Whiskey Distillery Tour – Spice Up Your Fall Travel!

By Nicole Evans

If you’re a whiskey aficionado, then you should consider keeping yourself warm on your fall travels by taking a whiskey distillery tour. Even if you don’t know the first thing about this classic amber alcohol, a whiskey distillery tour is a great way to learn more about how it’s made and how to appreciate it. You can also learn more about the history of whiskey, and even get a sample at the end to show off your new-found appreciation.

If a trip to Ireland or Scotland is in your future, it’s the perfect opportunity to take a whiskey distillery tour. One of the most popular and enduring whiskeys is Jameson, an Irish whiskey that’s been in production since 1780. Annually they sell over 31 million bottles of their single distillery whiskey, all produced in their one Jameson distillery in Cork, Ireland.

If you don’t know anything about whiskey, a whiskey distillery tour is a fun way to increase your knowledge. Irish whiskey, such as Jameson, is generally distilled several times to increase smoothness, and must be aged in wooden casks for over three years in Ireland to count as a truly Irish whiskey. The American variant of whiskey, bourbon, contains a higher percentage of corn mash and as a result has a sweeter flavor. Scotch whiskey again has slightly different distilling and aging process, and is known for its earthy, peaty notes and rich, non-apologetic flavors.

Take a whiskey tour in Ireland, Scotland, and the United States to really see the different ways of making whiskey and how the production process affects the final product. Fall travel is a great time to tour whisky distilleries, as they’re indoors and warm, and there’s nothing better than holding back the cold with a hot toddy.

The hardest part of a whiskey tour may be picking the distillery tour to take: while Ireland has only four whiskey distilleries, Scotland contains over 90. The US has an even wider variety of bourbon distilleries, although somewhere around 97% of bourbon is made in the area around Bardstown, Kentucky. Most distilleries offer tours; you can call them or look at their website to find out more information.